Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

OF PARASITES AND MENThey look like us. They feed on us. They’re parasites – alien creatures with one directive: take human form via a host and destroy the human race from within. First seen in Hiroshi Iwaaki’s classic science fiction horror manga Parasyte, these terrifying creatures are revisited and reinvented in 12 brand-new stories drawn by some of today’s greatest shonen and seinen manga artists. But no matter who they choose as their hosts – from militia men to the seemingly sweet elderly – one thing is for certain: no one is safe from the parasites…

A.) Do know that you NEED to have read Kiseijū (Parasyte) OR watched Kiseijū Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte: The Maxim) in order to completely understand/appreciate/enjoy this work.

B.) Do know that this is a form of fan-fiction/fan-art. It is inspired by Hitoshi Iwaaki's original work.

C.) Neo Parasyte f came before this in Fall 2016. So, if you are super into the manga, the anime, and this collection, you might want to pick that up as well!

Okay, let's now assume that you are a reader who has invested in some form of the original Parasyte. So, what can you expect in this fan-fiction/fan-art? Well, foremost, this is an elevated form for fan-fiction/fan-art. This collection is from artist/writers with a proven track record of excellence. So, this truly has potential to be "good."

You are going to see some familiar faces and some great surprises. Obviously, Migi has come along for the ride. As has Shinichi and Satomi. There are some pretty cool references to Tamura ... and you may find at least one more friend from the original work. As with the first collection, these short-works are a genuine mixed-bag. For me, the best pieces BY FAR were "Through Yura's Gate" and "The Strange One." Both have elements that will strongly appeal to fans. Both have depth and some nice twists. After these, there are a few mediocre pieces ... and a couple of sub-par ones. For instance, as is frequently the case with Migi, his story was the least interesting and the most visually perplexing. "Migi's Journey" is a "Where's Waldo" of chaotic "moe" (pronounced [mo.e]) images. I think this proves frustrating since while readers/viewers want to infantilize Migi and view her/him//it as "cute" (maybe as a result of her/his/its innocent curiosity), fans know that Migi does not favor this perception. You may recall that when Migi was mentally communing with Shinichi at the series' end, Migi saw her/him/itself as Shinichi sees her/him/it ... cute like a puppy. Nonetheless, Migi views itself as the lethal creature that it absolutely is. So, this sort of Migi's-day-out nonsense ... it's not in the spirit of the original art. But it does seem to embody the worst of fan-fiction, where artists and writers do as they please with the art of others. This is much less an homage and much more like fan-service.

As a collection, this has potential (as did the first collection). I think that if fans prepare themselves for the great segments and also prepare for the worst segments, they may really, really enjoy this!

I am rating this as a Parasyte fan. This is obviously fan service, and is intended for people wanting some short stories working off the premise.For examples of this, I have a video online that covers a few tales. You can find it on Youtube (search the book and user name). I would upload it here, but the video limits take it from 1080P to around 240.

First, this is much improved from the earlier F edition.

F did have some good tries, mind you, but most of them seemed to be collected from people that did not know Parasyte at all. This at least loosely attaches the theme, and when I say loosely, in some instances I mean VERY loosely. There was a case where I thought this was too loose: A person may hear voices. The tale was good enough, but the idea wasn't Parasyte at all. Others, however, approach this idea from war, the future, relationships with people, and on, and I liked that. Now, again, you have to think of this as a loose confederation of stories from authors from all over, and the stories that hit are going to have to via image more than story because of their length. Still, as a fan, I liked it.

If you haven't checked out the series, do NOT let these be your first look. And like the idea of Parasyte; not necessarily the story, because this isn't that, but broad stories based on it before thinking of owning this.

"Neo Parasyte m" is a nice tribute collection for the horror manga, "Parasyte". Each manga-ka gets to work their own style for their contribution. It opens with the wonderful Moto Hagio whose story takes elements of folklore and mystery. The contribution by Ryoji Minagawa called "Perfect Soldier" is, as the manga-ka admits as fairly othodox, but I liked it because the art was clean and the story works well in the Parasyte universe. Hiro Mashima (of "Fairy Tail") uses the interesting tidbit that the voice actress for "Lucy" for his series also does "Migi" for "Parasyte" so he did a nice combination.

There are some surprises in the sense that they aren't the usual manga format. The contribution by Takayuki Takeya is unexpected and weirdly effective. I like tribute anthologies like these because it introduces me to creators that I haven't heard of or have heard of but not read. Some contributions work better than others for the series but almost all the contributions are interesting in their own way.

Now ParaSyte M is a revival and tribute to a story collection published about 20 years ago. Each story has a human parasite as its main character usually debating on consuming or inhabiting a human host. The first several part stomped is about a girl who grows up in a hospital and hears voices telling her to kill. Those stories were so good I felt I’d give the book a five and read more of the series. That died with each successive chapter. The book’s collection rapidly goes south folllowed by really bad or poor stories. In the end I was glad to stop reading. The book ended up with a two from me.

I've never read / see Parasyte, so I was coming to this as a complete newbie. Since this is basically a "fan book" of the Parasyte series, I was worried that I wouldn't get all the stories. But with Moto Hagio's name on the cover, I was willing to give it a shot. I'm glad I did!

Even without knowledge of Parasyte or any of the characters, I found the world and characters easy to understand and get into. Most of the short stories are self-contained and work perfectly well on their own. There are exceptions, including a Fairy Tale / Parasyte mash-up that made no sense to me since I have read neither of those series. Moto Hagio's story was outstanding, as expected.

Like any anthology, this was a mixed bag but I found that I loved about 80% of the stories which is pretty good! If you are a Parasyte fan I'm sure that number would bump closer to 100%.